Saturday, April 2, 2011

Mexico Mission Trip: Day 2

Our second day in Mexico has zoomed by at super speeds and been a very effective day of ministry. We awoke in our rental home and enjoyed a delicious breakfast of biscuits and gravy. With loaded tummies we hit the road to a local community called Vista Marina. This is a neighborhood that Hope Chapel Rosarito has been ministering in for over two years. Each year of our Jr. High trips our teams have been privileged to serve in this community too. In fact during last year's trip a family in the Vista Marina community got connected with Don and Sandy and it sparked a relationship that has flourished ever since. Before our visit to the community in 2010, this family had heard lies and gossip about HCR and its pastors, but after our time ministering and getting to meet Don and Sandy they realized how ridiculous this speculation was to begin with. Now that same family has been hosting there Spanish speaking service in their home since September and the service has grown to so many people they're busting at the seams. It is awesome to see what God can do to bring new life in a community. This afternoon we had the privilege of serving with some of these families in their churches and the pastors of HCR. We cooked and distributed a free lunch, passed out nearly 100 balloon animals, performed 2 children's skits and puppet shows, and had our drama team perform their pantomime. We ended the time with a short message about God's love. It was incredible to see our students dive right in and serve wherever needed. Whether it was picking up garbage, serving a hot dog, or making a balloon dog they had smiles on their faces and were showing the unconditional love of God to the people of the Vista Marina community. Following our time in Vista Marina we made our way to the new HCR campus and prepped the building for service tomorrow morning. God is really uniting this team together as they get their hands dirty, stretch their comfort zones, and make themselves available for God's work.

Prayer Request:

-be praying for us as we have two church services at two different churches on Sunday, we really want the Holy Spirit to use us to encourage these two congregations however most needed

-pray for energy and health, no big issues have come up, but we want to be rested and ready to give our best effort

Let us know if you'd like more information about any of these ways to get connected with Uturn Jr. High. Our goal with Uturn is that there would be no spectators; that every student would know they are a creation of God and are a valuable part of the goings on at Uturn.